NEW YORK — A look at 10 of the top topics at the U.S. Open, the hard-court Grand Slam tennis tournament that begins Monday and ends Sept. 9:

1. MURRAY'S FIRST DEFENSE: For the first time, Andy Murray will be the defending champion at a Grand Slam tournament — and he suspects he'll be more nervous than usual in the early rounds. Will be intriguing to see if that's true. His championship at the 2012 U.S. Open made him the first man from Britain to win a major title since Fred Perry in 1936. And last month, Murray ended Britain's 77-year wait for a male champion at Wimbledon.

2. RAFA RETURNS: Rafael Nadal has gone through all manner of ups and downs over the past two seasons, including a seven-month absence because of knee trouble — he missed two Grand Slam tournaments, including last year's U.S. Open — plus two more French Open titles and two quick exits at Wimbledon. He's looked terrific lately, improving to 15-0 on hard courts in 2013 by winning the Montreal and Cincinnati tournaments this month. He's back up to No. 2 in the rankings, behind only Novak Djokovic, who has reached at least the semifinals in each of his past six visits to Flushing Meadows.

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